Every Wednesday, until footy returns, we'll be heading into the archive to recap some of the great games throughout North Melbourne's rich history.

This week, we take you back to the Semi-Final of 2000, and a clash against Hawthorn at the MCG. 

While North Melbourne was a top-four side in 2000, its form going into the Semi-Final against the Hawks was far from ideal.

The Roos had lost three of their last five, and a 125-point loss against Essendon the previous week was a bitter blow, as dominant as the Bombers had been across the entire year.

The Hawks went in having won their previous four, and an upset victory over the Cats in the Elimination Final saw Peter Schwab's side full of confidence.

After six straight Preliminary Final appearances, the pressure was on. North was in danger of losing consecutive finals under Denis Pagan for the first ever.

Even 'The King' was struggling, as osteitis pubis reared its ugly head. As Wayne Carey remembers in his autobiography, "I went through a stage in 2000 when I couldn't sit up in bed because of the dreaded OP. The condition saps you of all your running strength and power, leaving you with no explosiveness when sprinting off the mark, and no power to jump". 

But of course, the Shinboner Spirit was never in doubt.

50,027 were there at the MCG on a Friday night in August ... that's right, August; the Sydney Olympics were just around the corner, and as a result, the AFL season started and finished early.

As North ran out, it boasted some amazing talent - the likes of Blakey, Sholl, Carey, Stevens, McKernan, King and Bell all in action, and Troy Makepeace its youngest player, at 21. 

Brent Harvey was just 22, Shannon Grant 23 and Adam Simpson 24, with a great mix of some of the club's best ever players, and some future stars on show. 

If North had reason to prove the doubters wrong, they certainly did that; the first five goals of the game saw the Roos out to a 30-2 lead.

A brilliant snap midway through the second saw Shannon Grant notch his third, but the Hawks weren't going down without a fight.

Check out the highlights from a memorable final, thanks to Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.